SMU Goes 3-0 with Win over Texas A&M

Dallas, TX -
On a beautiful Saturday afternoon on the Hilltop, the SMU Mustangs (3-0, 1-0
LSA North) hosted the Texas A&M Aggies (2-5, 0-0 LSA South) in their 2012
home opener.Last year’s matchup between
the Mustangs and the Aggies saw SMU drop the regular season contest in overtime
12-13 in College Station only to rally and win the Lone Star Alliance Semi-Final
18-14 in Southlake and advance to the conference championship game.

After a
scoreless opening few minutes from both teams including a penalty on SMU, the
Mustangs were able to get on the scoreboard first thanks to a relentless attack
ride and goal by Alex Prince (Bolles – Jacksonville, FL) from Matt Murphy (St.
Mark’s School – Dallas, TX).Both teams then
traded goals in a tight contest that featured an outstanding doorstep save by
goaltender Cary Nelson (Gilman – Cockeysville, MD) as well as back-to-back
scores from freshman midfielder Michael Armstrong (Bellarmine – San Jose, CA).The first quarter ended with the Mustangs ahead
by a score of 4-2.

The Aggies
scored the first goal of the second quarter and then again after an SMU goal
making it 5-4 before the Mustang offense broke loose.Leading goal scorer and freshman standout
Matt Murphy (St. Mark’s School – Dallas, TX) notched his first goal of the game
with an impressive 1v1 dodge.Then
midfielder Zack Shainsky (Oregon Episcopal – Portland, OR) decided to showcase
his abilities in what would eventually be a career day for the freshman.With the Mustangs two men down, Shainsky took
several aggressive checks and successfully got around the heavy pressure to
find Zach Gibson (Pace Academy – Atlanta, GA) on the doorstep for a score.After Cole Sisto (Seton Hall Prep –
Westfield, NJ) sent a screamer past the goalie from just inside the restraining
box and another Texas A&M goal, Shainsky took a feed from linemate Conor
Law (Landon – Bethesda, MD) a few yards above the crease and finished the first
goal of his young career to make it 9-5 SMU heading into halftime.

The Mustang
defense took over in the third quarter holding the Aggies to one goal.They even got into the action offensively when
junior defenseman Cam Banta (Woodberry Forest – Westfield, NJ) tossed a perfect
full-field pass to streaking long-stick midfielder Chad Kehoe (Bolles –
Jacksonville, FL) who blew through the A&M defense and scored his second
goal of the season.Penalties
highlighted the third quarter and entire second half with SMU down five men at
one point after goaltender Cary Nelson (Gilman – Cockeysville, MD) broke his
stick trying to disrupt an Aggie transition opportunity.

“I was happy
with the outcome, but our penalty streak in the third quarter could have been
disastrous,” added Head Coach Karl Lynch.

Coming out
of the final break with a 10-6 lead, Matt Murphy (St. Mark’s School – Dallas,
TX) scored his second goal of the game on another impressive 1v1 dodge.Texas A&M was able to bury two in the
back of the net before Zack Shainsky (Oregon Episcopal – Portland, OR) capped
his performance with his second goal of the afternoon in addition to two previous
assists.Before the last whistle,
A&M scored to make the final 12-9 in favor of the young Mustang squad.

For his
efforts offensively, defensively, and in the transition game Zack Shainsky (Oregon
Episcopal – Portland, OR) was awarded the game ball by Coach Lynch.

The Mustangs
play host to division rival University of Oklahoma (4-3, 1-2 LSA North) next
Saturday before their spring break away trip to Southern California the
following week.